Leave the Hurt Behind
by Tiniwiel
Summary: AU: There's more to Reid's past than Luke knew and in order for Reid to keep him, he must stop running and tell the truth. Inspired by Eric Sheffer Steven's appearance on "Body of Proof." Spoilers for that episode as well as for the last episodes of "As the World Turns." Set in the "Train, what Train?" AU of ATWT.


This was originally written in May 2011, I'm not sure why it never got posted here. Even back then had been while since I've written LuRe so some of the details are probably off and I am very sorry about that. I hope you enjoy it anyway!

I don't believe this was beta'd at the time and though I edited it before posting here, it is still technically un-betated.

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Six months has passed since his sister's death. Six months of sitting alone in a giant house that had stopped feeling like home a long time ago. Six months of listening to lawyers drone on about what to do with Sara, what to do about his mother and what to do with his life as the only respectable member of the family left. Six months of _existing_ instead of _living_.

Then one day, he woke up and realized he had to leave; had to leave this town, these people, this life behind in order to regain his own. Most of all he had to leave behind Billy, who always followed behind his mother like a child grasping at her apron strings; Billy who cleaned up after his sisters and had been left alone. Above everything else, he had to leave Billy behind.

So, he paid the lawyers to take care of his mother and sister as well as they could. Paid the staff for a year's worth of pay and auctioned everything that once belonged to him and his family. Paid of his only living relative, an uncle who he had been forced to stay with when he was younger while his parents had gone traveling, for his silence which had previously been readily given. He took nothing with him, nothing that would remind him of his previous life save for the stethoscope his father had given him that once belonged to his grandfather and the money that was rightfully his. That and the determination never to let anyone disappoint him again, to never let love, be it for a family member or a lover, hurt him in the way his mother and sisters had.

And so, with nothing but a plane ticket and a stethoscope Billy became Reid Oliver, who quickly became Dr. Reid Oliver. He had planned to lay low, planned to open a practice in a quiet town and never attract any of the attention that had been a daily occurrence in his old life. But the drive his uncle had instilled, it consumed him and Dr. Reid Oliver soon became the best neurosurgeon in Dallas, then in Texas and soon the county.

His reputation grew yet he never left the city and did his best under these new circumstances to keep a low profile. He never let the papers or the medical magazines print his picture for fear that someone from Philadelphia would see it and recognize him.

Years had passed since his sister's death, fewer than it would have taken a normal person to go through medical school, but not for Dr. Reid Oliver with his genius and Billy's money and a slightly forged past. He was lonely, but that was okay. It was better than his previous life where he was surrounded by loved ones yet never loved.

And then suddenly he was in Oakdale and suddenly there was Luke Snyder, taking place in his heart in a way he never thought anyone could. And suddenly they were six months into their relationship and Reid found out he could never really leave Billy behind.

He found Luke sitting on the couch of what used to be Katie's apartment that she sold to them after she and Chris had gotten married and moved into a new house, Doogie's new heart that Reid secured for him beating strong and constant.

As Reid dropped his keys in the bowl beside the door he noticed the newspaper clippings between Luke's long fingers. Fear clenched in Reid's gut and he felt the cold grip of the past he had struggled so hard to evade.

"What's going on?" Reid asked, cringing at the crack in his voice.

"Grandmother stopped by the foundation today," Luke said, his eyes glued to the papers in his hand. Reid sat beside him heavily, leaving space between them, a space he was feeling grow with each minute. "She ran a background check when you first came to town. They didn't find anything until now because-" Luke cut himself off as he turned to face Reid. "Who the hell is Bill Parkson?" He shook the clippings in front of Reid's face and the doctor saw a sick sort of flipbook of his past: his younger sister's lifeless body, his mother in handcuffs and his own grief-stricken, but blurry face as he left the courthouse for the last time.

Reid tried to open his mouth, make the words come out that could explain what he'd done, why he'd done it without Luke walking out the door, but the crumbling look in the younger man's face told him that could be impossible. So, he went for the truth and hoped it would be enough.

"It's me. Or it was me." Luke shot up from the couch, the pieces of newspaper fluttering to the floor. Reid remained seated but leaned forward, eyes taking in the wood grain of the coffee table rather than the paper at his feet.

"I don't understand. Have you been lying to me?" Luke's voice hitched and cracked and it killed Reid that he was the cause of the raw emotion.

"I was born Bill Parkson in Philadelphia," he intoned, keeping his eyes down. "I was part of a very wealthy family, my younger sister was very famous for her environmental work."

"Your sister," Luke scoffed as he paced behind the couch, his voice faltering. "You have a sister."

"Had," Reid corrected, wanting nothing more than this all to be a dream. "She died, she was sick and dying." He felt Luke stop behind him and kept talking, hoping to get the entire story out before losing the only bright spot in his life in years. "My mother switched some of her medication with placebos to keep Nikki sick, to keep my mother in high standing with her social circles, something I never would have known had Sara, our sister, not killed Nikki out of jealousy." Heavy footsteps rounded the corner and Reid glanced over quickly, seeing only Luke's feet before he continued. "I was alone and I was tired. So, I paid the lawyers, sold my stuff and entered medical school. A few forged documents and one legitimate medical degree later, I became Dr. Reid Oliver."

Luke sat beside Reid, eyes shining with unshed tears. "Do I even know you?" The unspoken question: _Was any of it real?_ hung between them

Reid reached out to hold the younger man's hand only to have Luke quickly pull away. Reid sighed. "Everything that is important, everything that you need to know about me is real. I never lied about that."

"Like what?" Luke asked harshly.

"Like…that I love you. That I've never felt about anyone the way I feel about you. That for the first time I feel like my life has meaning."

Luke's tense posture softened slightly, though his face was contorted in anger. "This is what you thought I had dug up on you when I got you to come here, isn't it?" His voice was hard, accusing, a tone he saved for Noah and it hurt Reid more than he thought possible that it was now directed at him. That he had caused the same pain.

"Yes," Reid sighed, dropping his head into his hands, his eyes catching the black and white stare of his mother. He wondered suddenly what had happened to her, if she was in prison or if she had been let off and was looking for him. If she even cared where he was. Reid raised his head to see Luke staring at him with an unreadable look on his face.

"Luke, please…believe me when I tell you my feelings for you are real. I never lied to you about that." He stood up and reached toward Luke, quickly stood and backed several steps away.

"Just…stop. Give me a minute." He closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath, brows furrowing as he processed the new information. After a few moments hee opened them slowly, meeting Reid's gaze. "Will you tell me the truth? About everything?"

"Yes, anything," Reid said quickly. "I will give you and tell you anything you need just please…" He swallowed the desperation in his voice heavily. "Please don't leave me, Luke. I don't know I could take being left again." It was a long leap from his abandonment of his own self, but Reid learned, he knew, that if he didn't have Luke in his life he truly be alone and this time would have no backup plan.

Luke's face softened and he walked toward Reid before enveloping him in a hug. Reid sagged into the embrace, knowing full well he barely deserved the generosity of this man, much less be held and loved by him. Slowly Luke pulled away before picking up the dropped clippings and sitting on the couch.

"Tell me about her," he said softly as he held up an article with a picture of Nikki when she had gone on one of her many adventures.

Reid smiled as he joined Luke on the couch, taking in the happy face of his sister. "You would have loved her."

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Please let me know what you think!


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